Greetings, Thinkers.
This week’s Leadership CONNECT:
- Spark of the week: Understanding Sextortion: Protect Yourself and Others from Online Exploitation (Source: FBI)
- Report: Thorn Report on Financial Sextortion (Source: Thorn)
- Video: Sam Altman’s New AI Device Unleashes AI Agents (Source: YouTube )
- Guide: How Samsung Phone Camera Uses AI for Moon Photos & Pictures (Source: Samsung)
- MindLi: Red Path – The Dangers of Digital (Source: DigitalRosh)
Happy Thinking,
Dr. Yesha Sivan and the MindLi Team
P.S. Comments, ideas, feedback? Send me an e-mail
1. Spark of the Week: Understanding Sextortion: Protect Yourself and Others from Online Exploitation
(Source: FBI)
Notice – the following story is a dummy case shared by the FBI about sexual extortion.
Tammy, whose name was changed for privacy, was home alone for a few hours. She had plans to meet up with a friend after her mom got home from work. The door to her house was locked. The alarm system was on.
Tammy did what most 13-year-olds do when they have free time: She got on her phone.
Soon after, she’d been targeted, groomed, and exploited by an online predator.
In messages to Tammy, the man threatened to send pictures and spread rumors about her to her friends. He said he would hunt down and kill her mom and come to her house to hurt her, too. Using these threats, he demanded that she stay on a video connection with him and perform a series of increasingly graphic acts on camera.
This is just one dummy case (shared by the FBI) that ended in Sextortion. Kids, teens, and adults are being attacked via the internet, sometimes by individuals, sometimes by organized groups.
The FBI has seen a significant increase in the number of cases involving children and teens being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online—a crime called sextortion.
This is becoming a common practice (see the following chart) (Source: Thorn report).
The power of modern technologies (Internet, cameras, social networks, and the like) is immense to do good but also to do harm; the solution must be a combination of enforcement (by authorities and platforms), and awareness by parents and users. And here, we are doing our share to INCREASE AWARENESS.
See more about sextortion:
- FBI site on Sextortion Sextortion (Source: FBI)
- Podcast: FBI on sextortion (Source: FBI)
- The case of Braden Markus, who died because of Sextortion (Source: The Braden Markus Foundation)
2. Report: Thorn Report on Financial Sextortion
(Source: Thorn)
Thorn is an organization dedicated to building a safer world for kids and defending them.
Thorn published a report regarding the trends in financial sextortion, it’s an investigation of sextortion reports in NCMEC CyberTipline data.
The key points of this report:
- Financial sextortion is a grave and urgent threat that demands our attention. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has reported a shocking average of 812 sextortion cases each week in the latest year analyzed, with the vast majority centered around financial coercion.
- Perpetrators employ manipulative tactics to intensify victims’ fears about the devastating repercussions of sharing intimate images, often claiming that it will “ruin their life.” This manipulation must be recognized for what it truly is—an assault on the victim’s mental and emotional well-being.
- While Instagram and Snapchat are the leading platforms for sextortion, there is a troubling trend of perpetrators migrating victims to secure, end-to-end encrypted messaging apps. They are also increasingly using Cash App and gift cards for payments, making the crime more difficult to trace.
- The main countries where sextortion-ists operate—Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire—employ different tactics and platforms, but their malicious intent is the same.
- Despite Instagram accounting for the bulk of sextortion complaints reported to NCMEC, we must address the alarming underreporting on other platforms. It is crucial to confront this issue proactively to safeguard potential victims and raise awareness about the seriousness of this matter. Together, we can combat this critical issue and protect our communities from harm.
Stay informed. Stay alert. Speak up.
3. Video: Sam Altman’s New AI Device Unleashes AI Agents
(Source: YouTube)
Altman spearheaded a groundbreaking initiative called Worldcoin Orb, designed to ensure individuals can confirm their humanity.
This concept is intricately linked to the ongoing human versus machine thinking debate we presented on the previous CONNECT newsletter.
Watch the full video on the Worldcoin Orb
Read our previous CONNECT newsletter
4. Guide: How Samsung Phone Camera Uses AI for Moon Photos & Pictures
(Source: Samsung)
Taking amazing photos of the moon has never been easier! With your Galaxy device, the camera harnesses advanced deep learning AI and multi-frame processing to enhance details.
Using Super Resolution, the camera combines over 10 images to boost quality through digital zoom, noise reduction, and clarity enhancements. When the Scene Optimizer recognizes the moon, you’ll get a beautifully clear picture.
Plus, if your shot comes out incomplete, Samsung can provide a complete image sourced from other photos.
5. MindLi: Red Path – The Dangers of Digital
(Source: DigitalRosh)
We are following the negative impact of technologies on the DigitalRosh website. we are calling it the “Red Path”.
Under the Red Path category, you will find many sparks on various case studies and articles regarding the dangers of Digital.
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About Leadership CONNECT
MindLi CONNECT, is a weekly source of news and inspiration for thinking aimed at DigitalRosh members and MindLi users.
In every issue, you will find curated content from different industries. It would take less than 5 minutes reading to get a brief overview of the presented topics.
Want to delve deeper? You would need to have a subscription to the DigitalRosh site which is an affiliate site of MindLi. It is Free. Click on the links in each item or follow the breadcrumbs to the DigitalRosh website.
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